Affair and Cold
by JimVan
Summary: One's deepest secret...and another's secret shame...
1. Affair

Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman Zero, or any of its characters.

Author: Hey there. A one-shot for you here. I got into a romantic, super-mushy mood and wrote this story last night. Hope you like it.

* * *

Affair

He stood alone out on the balcony, his head craned upward staring at the starry night sky above.

The great, colorful lights of the skyscrapers of Neo Arcadia lit up the city below with a lively color and served as a constant reminder that people were moving below, awake on the roads and in the streets, while others slept.

But this one standing here wished to look up at the stars, the peaceful sanctuary for him in this time. This time when he wondered if he really was doing the right thing.

The stars didn't have voices, but their expressions pulled at him and made him turn to them for answers on all nights like these. Nights when he realized the real beauty that lay in life and what it offered, and what one could live for besides what he did.

Violence.

One thing, one thing since it had all begun…had made him realize just how peaceful and joyous life could be.

The one thing, ironically enough, had been helping another to escape from a life that seemed to be as pointless as the one that he led now.

But it had all changed now…that one he had saved had returned the favor and saved him by making him see this and pointing him towards the stars.

He cast down his eyes again and rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, his fingertips brushing against his short blonde hair.

He had never thought he would do what he did. Such things had usually never struck a cord in him before. But when it had come, it had shattered all his illusions and made him realize just how ignorant he had been.

He turned, seeing the sleeping form behind him in the large bed beyond the glass doors to the balcony. He remembered that there had been such anguish and sadness in her pale face before…the incident. How she had struggled day and night to find any peace, and had suffered isolation and helplessness.

He now found it difficult to find any disturbance at all in the pale, almost white skin of her face as she slept. A few strands of jet-black hair fell over her pale forehead and her eyes were closed in such a perfect state of repose that he found it difficult to look away. Her mouth was closed and her pale and only slightly pink lips were drawn into a perfect bow in her sleep.

With some difficulty, he looked away again and turned his gaze back to the stars. He would never forget the day when it had happened. The day when he had been out patrolling and he had spotted her on one of the rooftops.

How he had found her an emotional wreck, screaming and crying out to the sky to be set free. How her beautiful white face had been flushed with red and her dark eyes had been bright with anguish and insanity as she had walked to the edge of the roof…

That was when something inside him awakened. Something which told him he must not let her die. Something which told him that if she died he would follow her, and he would never allow what was hers to be taken from her…ever.

He had run forward and grabbed her arm. He had begged her to come back, not to leave, not to take herself away from him…

Her eyes had been wide and bright, seeing ghosts and illusions, but when she saw him, she knew at once that he was true, and that he would help. He would not hurt her as so many others had done…

She had pulled away and fallen into his arms, sobbing and clutching him hard until she had faded into sleep…

He fell out of his memory and back to the present as he felt a pair of cool, silky, petite arms wind around his bare chest just above his belt. His breath came out in one long gasp as he felt her rest her head against his back. He did not have to turn around to know that her eyes were closed in perfect peace as she leaned against him.

"They do not lie, do they?" she said quietly, her voice, which had once been driven to such heights of sadness and grief, was calm and as clear as water.

He looked up and stared to see her friends, who had long since become his friends too, winking down at him from the sky above.

"No…" he agreed quietly. "They don't."

"I know what you were thinking about…" she said quietly. "I can never thank you enough you know…for what you did…"

He turned and beheld her, standing before him with her hands resting upon his chest. Her dark eyes held his own deep red ones and stared deep into his soul. The loose white robe she wore over her pale skin served only to make her seem even more of what he had always imagined an angel to be.

"If anything had ever happened to you…" he said. "I don't think I could ever have forgiven myself."

She cast her eyes down. "What do you see in me?" she asked quietly. "I was cowardly and weak. I sought to run away from what I could have defeated, but was too frightened to try…"

"No…" he answered, taking her hands in his and holding them gently. "You weren't a coward. You were alone…as I was. But now…neither of us will be alone. Not even in death. Even if I die tomorrow…I will die knowing that you were in my life…and I was in yours…as I know now my purpose was to be."

She embraced him fiercely, holding him hard as they stood under the moonlight.

He stroked her hair softly, noting fondly how the silvery streaks in her hair, the marks of the suffering she had once endured, seemed to make her all the more beautiful. She was still young, not even into her late thirties, but even the premature silver could not mar her beauty as the world and her harsh life had always tried to do.

"Don't your dare ever leave me…" she whispered, her voice low and quiet, but the fear behind it was unmistakable.

He wound his arms around her waist and leaned down to press his lips gently against hers. She responded immediately, and almost fiercely.

He pulled back from her after several moments, the flush returning to his cheeks in an instant, the red tattoos not stopping them. Despite the fact that he was far older than her, his body would remain that of a teenager forever.

Their eyes met once again, and he gazed at her. "You know I'll never stop coming to you. I'll be with you until the very end…"

She nodded, her eyelids half-closed as she looked down and then back up at him. "I know you would never leave me, but still, I wish you did not have to go. I don't want to be alone with them…the shadows…"

He put his arm around her shoulders and pointed up at the stars again.

"They will be here for you…and whenever you see them, think of me, my love, and I will be there."

She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder and collarbone and closing her eyes. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back inside. He placed her on the bed and kissed her cheek lightly before straightening.

"I'll be back soon, I promise." he said, and then turned and put on his shirt and his jacket.

"Wait…" she sat up in bed and held out her hand to him. Hesitating, he held out his own hand and she dropped her small silver pendant in his palm. "Take this. I don't want to think of you out there with them without at least a little piece of me…"

He gazed at her for a moment before slowly nodding and closing his fingers over the pendant.

He walked towards the front door of the apartment, and then stopped and turned to look at the bed.

She gazed back at him, her dark eyes seeming to glitter beneath the long mane of silvery-black hair.

"I'll be here. Come back to me, Fighting..."

He nodded. "I'll see you again soon, Yasue."

He opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, turning to see her staring at him as he closed it again.

He sighed and pulled on his boots before turning and walking towards the elevator.

Yasue…she was the only one who had ever shown him the value of life. Her love for him was pretty much the only thingthat had ever stopped him from wondering just why he existed. He had loved her ever since the time they had first met.

And that was dangerous, but he would never stop. What would Harpuia or Leviathan say if they knew? He had a good idea they would be absolutely scandalized. And what if the government knew? They would immediately dismiss him from his post and send him away for retirement.

But he would not stop. Ever since that night when he had found her…Yasue, the woman who suffered from visual hallucinations and abject terror, and had been pushed into a marriage she didn't want, saddened further by the cold treatment from her husband and held in isolation to prevent her causing disturbance.

He had saved her that night as she tried to jump that night, to escape from the ghosts and shadows she saw and to be with her only friends, the stars. She had seen him for the first time with his face nestled amongst the stars as she gazed up at him from his arms.

He had cradled her n his arms for several hours on that rooftop as she spilled her heart and told him everything, and then he knew he just couldn't leave her. He took her away and hid her in one of his apartments in the city, giving her a new home and promising he would never allow her to be taken back.

Her husband, one of Neo Arcadia's most prominent human politicians, had been searching for her for months, knowing nothing of what had happened and alerting all the authorities. Even Sage Harpuia himself had been asked to find her, but he came up with nothing. Little did Harpuia know that it was Fefnir alone who could solve that mystery. After a time, Yasue had been officially declared dead and the search was called off.

She may have been free of her husband, but she still needed to be kept in isolation to prevent her from ever being discovered and taken back to the place which had nearly cost her life…though, still, there were times when Fefnir dared to take her out into the city wearing a scarf and dark glasses. The ghosts haunted her still, but Fefnir knew that while he was there with her, she was not afraid, and truly at peace as much as one like her could be.

He sighed. He hated leaving her alone like this, but he had to be careful to avoid raising any more suspicion. Harpuia was already curious enough about why he had suddenly started to spend so much time back in his apartment instead of staying on base, which was more convenient for a general like him. So he went, and came back whenever he could, but she understood it and did not blame him…that much he knew.

He stepped out of the elevator and walked into the parking lot. He sighed again. It would be a long ride back to the command centre.

* * *

Sage Harpuia and Fairy Leviathan strode down the corridor, seeking their red companion. 

"It's not like him to spend so much time away…" Harpuia said. "He's usually back after only a little while whenever he leaves the base. He gets bored out in the city."

"Funny, isn't it?" Leviathan agreed. "He seems to be taking more and more time away from base nowadays." She smirked. "You'd think he was seeing someone…"

Harpuia's only reply was an incredulous look.

Then, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and Harpuia squinted down the corridor to see Fefnir, still clad in civvies, walking towards them, looking unusually quiet and thoughtful. He was about to pass them when Harpuia spoke again.

"Where have you been?"

"Huh?" Fefnir stopped and his eyes contracted again as he turned to see them. "Oh, it's you, Harpuia…I just had to take care of some things at my place…"

Harpuia stared at him. "For all that time? Fefnir, you have to be careful. I'm saying this for your own good. You're the Second Guardian of Neo Arcadia and you don't want to get the reputation of ignoring your duty now, do you?"

Fefnir looked down for a moment, and then shook his head grimly.

Harpuia sighed. "Well…anyway, just go get into your armor and meet me and Leviathan in the briefing room in twenty minutes. We have a new garrison deployment to discuss."

Fefnir nodded and turned again, but then Leviathan spoke. "And what, may I ask, is that?"

She pointed to the shining silver chain around Fefnir's neck. His eyes momentarily widened and he stuffed it into his shirt.

"Nothing!" he said a little too quickly before walking off at full throttle.

Leviathan smirked after him and Harpuia raised one eyebrow.

"Looks like my guess wasn't too far off after all, Sage. Did you see what that was?"

Harpuia slowly nodded, a faintly surprised look on his face. Then his eyes narrowed. "Hmm…that's strange…"

"Huh? What is it, Sage?"

Harpuia looked down, frowning and tapping at his temple with two fingers. "I have a funny feeling I've seen a pendant like that somewhere before…"

* * *

Fefnir sat alone in full armor at his cluttered desk, his elbows resting on the top and his arms folded. He slowly reached into the secret compartment in his belt and drew out the picture. 

He stared at her picture. He missed her already.

Once, these pictures had been stuck up all over the city security and in headquarters, but Fefnir had discreetly disposed of them all after the search had been called off, and no-one bothered replacing pictures for a closed search. The only picture left was the one he carried in that belt.

Yasue. She was every bit as perfect in the picture as in real life.

Perfect to the silver pendant she wore around her neck.

Fefnir opened the compartment again, taking the pendant out and staring at it for a moment, before sighing and placing it and the picture back inside and clicking it shut.

He stood up and turned to the door, with the promise of more confusion, violence, and danger guaranteed in doing so.

But he would do it.

He would do it only so he would have the opportunity to leave and be with her again.

Even if only the stars could respect that.

* * *

Author: Well, I hope you liked it. Please R and R. This is what happens after sleep deprivation, several cups of coffee and the loneliness kicking in a fanfic author's life. I'm probably the lamest romantic in existence…oh well, sigh. I won't be writing any more in this unless someone begs me. In any case, love you all, readers.

Jim'Van


	2. Cold

Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman Zero, or any of its characters. They are the legal property of Capcom and associates. In the great scheme of things, Capcom means so little that I could claim otherwise in this puny little fanfic and it would change no more of the tantra of universe than a fly dropping dead in the sugar jar in the great scheme of things, so why do I bother? Blah, blah, blah...

Author: Someone begged, so here it is. This time the MMZ fanfic pairing that's drop-dead obvious, but for some reason, so few choose to use or write anything substantial about.

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Cold

Zero awoke and sighed slightly as he raised himself on one elbow on the futon as the light of morning penetrated the fabric of the tent. He caught the movement from out of the corner of his eye and turned his head, recoiling immediately at the two sapphire-blue eyes that watched him as he awoke.

A beautiful, light red flush crept up her cheeks as she finished pulling on the underclothes. Zero gaped in horror at her present state of undress. The fabric slipped easily over the contours of her body with a dry rustle that made Zero turn slightly red himself.

She for once managed to look slightly aware of herself and even shy as she stepped towards him, keeping her head down and her eyes averted, cheeks laced with red. The expression on her face, however, was far from upset.

She sat beside him as he levered himself up. He looked sideways at her, but she kept staring into space for a few moments until she finally spoke.

"How do you feel now, Zero?"

Zero groaned to himself as he tried with all his might to remember. _What on earth happened?_

It had been a hard day of travelling for all of them, even more so for Zero, who struggled to contain his anxiety and his grief. Ever since their departure from the capital, he had done his best to hold in his anger and grief, but exhausted such energy doing so. The thought of Ciel and what had happened between them haunted him in both his waking and sleeping hours, and at often times, he had felt tears stinging to his eyes as he remembered…

Zero did his best to break off the train of thought and shuddered.

He remembered what had happened the night before, how he had tossed and turned in his tent futon until finally giving up and letting the tears flow. She must've been peeking through the tent flap and seen him, tears glittering in the moonlight.

She had called his name softly, and he had turned to see the dark moonlit silhouette inside his tent.

He remembered what he had said.

"_Ciel? Is that you?"_

"Zero…" Leviathan reached out and took his hand gently in her own, snapping him out of his memory. "What…what is it we have here?"

Again, Zero did not respond immediately.

Slowly, he spoke. "I…I reached out to you."

Fairy looked startled for a moment, and then she shook her head. "No, I came to you. You…don't you remember? You…" Her eyes momentarily hardened. "You asked if I was…someone else. Then you recognized me…you told me to leave you, and I…I…" The blush returned to her cheeks with a vengeance.

"You wouldn't." Zero remembered now. "You said you wanted to…help me. You asked me not to…"

"…not to push me away anymore." Fairy finished. She turned her head imploringly to Zero. "Please, Zero. Please don't tell me I did the wrong thing! I want to help you. I…"

Her whole face was red now, and Zero could see that all traces of her usual cockiness and bravery had slipped from her face. She now looked sincerely desperate, vulnerable, and imploring, and Zero yearned to just wind his arms around her and hold her close…

_No!_ Zero shook himself and looked away from her. He had a moment of weakness, a moment of heartache, and she had taken advantage of it like the shark she was.

"Zero…" Fairy touched his arm tenderly, but he slapped her hand away and turned his cold, furious gaze upon her.

"Ever since we met, you tried to pull this on me, Leviathan!" He growled in an icy voice. "I couldn't count the number of times you tried to tempt me on both hands! And feet! Well, you came, and now you've succeeded. Congratulations! You got what you want, and I have to deal with it! Do what you want, boast on about it all you like, but don't ever expect me to forgive you for this! Now get out of here!"

"Zero…"

"Get out!" Zero roared, closing his eyes.

"Zero!"

He stopped dead as he looked up to glare. The one thing he had never expected to see from her.

Tears.

They rolled down her face, streaking her cheeks.

"Zero…it wasn't just that. I-I really c-care about you! In all my time, I've never known anyone so strong. Anyone who could go through so many trials without cracking. Anyone who…who inflamed me with such desire to fight. Since I met you, I felt such a…a pull within me."

* * *

That was as far as she got. Zero's fist swung around and connected sharply with her face. Leviathan cried out and fell back. Zero was kneeling over her, snarling with utter contempt, and she covered her eyes to avoid seeing that gaze any longer.

But that didn't stop Zero from grabbing her arms and pushing them down to her sides. Fairy knew she could have fought. She should be angry. She should be proud and defiant like any general.

But she knew know she could never fight Zero again. Not even if she wanted to.

No-one could harm him after…that.

She remembered the silky smooth feel of his synthflesh against her own, the fingers running over her back, the light smack of lips against the nape of her neck…

No, after that, she could never bear to hurt him again…

She was jerked out of her memory back into harsh reality by the feel of Zero hoisting her up and tossing her roughly in the tent flap's general direction. There was nothing tender about him now. Only raw anger and hate that made tears sting to her eyes.

She stood slowly, and seeing him start to move forward, she quickly nodded and turned to leave. Unhappy and afraid, she ducked under the flap.

How could she ever face him again?

So cold...

No sooner had Fairy crawled outside into the dim sunlight of the jungle morning than she found herself immediately beneath two hard stares.

Sage Harpuia and Fighting Fefnir. Standing over her in full armor. Glaring.

She began to tremble as she realized they had seen her crawl out. And knew where she had spent the night…

Harpuia slowly head something out. Levi couldn't see what it was because of the glaring sun. He dropped it with a thump.

Her helmet.

She could see the familiar design on the blue metal. Fairy felt her face grow unbearably hot as she remembered…

She had left it next to Zero's futon before she and he…

* * *

"_I suppose we will have to wake Zero up and ask him."_

"_Harpuia…I don't know. He didn't look too happy tonight. Maybe waking him up ain't a good idea."_

"_Priorities, Fefnir. Leviathan's disappearance is more important than…"_

_He broke off abruptly as he heard a sound._

"_What was that?" Fefnir had heard it too._

"…_Zero must be awake…" Harpuia stepped closer to his tent. Then they heard it again, much louder._

"_Zero…"_

_The two Guardians froze at the familiar voice coming from the tent._

"_She's in there? Are they talking about something?"_

_Curiosity overcoming him, Harpuia, with Fefnir close behind, crept closer to the tent. They could definitely hear sounds now. A rustle, a swish, a mumbled word or two…were Zero and Levi going over their map together?_

"_Careful!" Fefnir hissed lowly as Harpuia ducked and began to open the flap slightly._

_Harpuia slowly peeked in through the flap…and then promptly withdrew his head and turned to look at his fellow Guardian, his eyes wider than Fefnir had ever seen them._

* * *

Leviathan walked behind everyone today, unable to bear the tension of being near them. She kept her eyes downcast on the earth so as not to catch their glances and occasional stares…

How could she ever look any of them in the face again? Especially…

Zero.

She felt a single tear of shame trickle down her cheek.

Cold.

Fairy had always preferred the cold, but now…

It seemed that one type of cold was deadly even for her…

* * *

Author: Please leave a review. Again, I won't go further unless someone begs me. Love you all, readers.

Jim'Van


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